CBP issues guidance for Section 301 exclusions

The agency set forth procedures to claim exclusions granted by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Section 301 duties on goods from China.    Automated Commercial Environment filers can now claim exclusions granted to imports subject to Section 301 duties on goods from China, Customs and Border Protection announced in a Cargo Systems Messaging Service message Friday.
   As of Sunday, importers can now report the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) number 9903.88.05 to cover exclusions, which apply to certain goods in HTS chapters 84, 85 and 90.
   Importers are specifically advised to not submit the Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 301 duties when HTS 9903.88.05 is submitted.
   Granted by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, duty exclusions are retroactive on imports to the initial effective date of July 6, 2018, CBP said.
   The exclusions will extend for one year after the Dec. 28 Federal Register notice announcing them and apply to all imports of specified products, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request, the agency said.
    Among the products granted exclusions are linear-acting cylinders in hydraulic power engines and motors, certain drinking water coolers, certain radio transceivers, certain stainless steel stretchers, manually powered roller machines with dies for embossing paper, and certain nonelectric water filtration apparatuses.
   To request a refund for previous imports of duty-excluded products, importers may file a post-summary correction, and if an entry has already liquidated, importers may protest the liquidation, CBP said.
   Specifically, the exclusions apply to products under seven different 10-digit HTS subheadings and 24 specially prepared product descriptions.
   USTR announced the exclusions Dec. 21, and no exclusions have been granted since then, according to a USTR spreadsheet detailing the status of exclusion requests, most recently updated on Friday.
   For more information, readers can access USTR’s Dec. 28 Federal Register notice.